


The Boy in The Forest

by Emeraldloon, spaghetti_doodle



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Canon Autistic Character, Growing Up Together, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24455863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeraldloon/pseuds/Emeraldloon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaghetti_doodle/pseuds/spaghetti_doodle
Summary: What if someone else found N before Ghetsis did?(AU in which Hilbert meets N while he's still living in the woods, and they become friends and get to grow up together)
Relationships: N | Natural Harmonia Gropius/Touya | Hilbert
Comments: 11
Kudos: 131





	1. Chapter 1

The day had been fairly uneventful. Soft wind, not a cloud in the sky, the perfect time of day that would leave any small child itching to go out and play. And that's exactly what six year old Hilbert was going to do. He excitedly rushed out his front door after calling to his mother telling her he was going to play. After hearing a ‘be careful’ called his way, he bolted into the nearby forest as fast as his tiny legs could go. He loved exploring the forest around Numeva Town. It was far away from any bustling cities and close to the ocean, leaving the environment perfectly quiet and full of almost entirely untouched vegetation, aside from the countless amounts of pokemon that had made their home there. The place was the perfect grounds for him and his friends to go adventuring. He was left on his own today, but that wasn't going to stop him from enjoying himself and indulging his adventurous spirit and bottomless curiosity. 

He had been wandering aimlessly for a long while, gazing up at the tallest tree he could find and wondering how long it could take to climb to the top –or if he could even make it that high considering his size– when something caught his eye. A pokemon he had never seen before, a small black and red fox was rummaging through a nearby berry bush. His eyes widened in amazement at his discovery, trying to sneak closer and get a better look without scaring the creature away, but the small pokemon suddenly turned his way and ran off upon noticing him. Hilbert began running after it, only to see the small fox seemingly vanish into thin air. Disappointed, he sat under a nearby tree hoping for it to come back.

The Zorua ran from the small boy, using its ability to create illusions to hide itself from view. Once realizing the child could no longer see him, he sighed in relief before running back to the clearing where it lived. The Zorua had a very odd ‘pack’, so to speak. A Darmanitan for a mother figure, a Woobat for a sister, and strangest of all, a human boy for a brother, dressed in slightly torn clothes with long matted green hair.

“Are you alright Zorua?” The Darmanitan grunted inquisitively upon noticing the small fox was out of breath. “There was a human coming close here while I was looking for berries.” He barked. The human and the Woobat looked at each other in concern at the possibility of an intruder. Darmanitan paused for a moment before continuing “Who were they?” Zorua replied “Another kid. Why do you ask?” hearing this, darmanitan got an idea. “Zorua, drop your illusion.” “Huh? Why?” the fox asked, confused. They normally did whatever they could to keep their den hidden from any people who happened to come close, so this was quite out of the ordinary. Upon noticing his confusion, the monkey pokemon patted the small fox and turned to her human ‘son’.

“Natural, May I speak to you for a moment?” the green haired child approached his ‘mother’, while Woobat was resting atop his head. The child didn't know how to speak like other humans did, but he could understand his wildlife family flawlessly. Darmanitan placed a large hand on the boy's shoulder reassuringly. “I think it would be a good idea for you to interact with another human child. I’d love to see you reintegrate yourself among other humans one day.'' The boy, Natural, didn't know how to react to his caretaker's words. He had lived under her care in that forest ever since he was a baby, and hardly knew the first thing about how to behave like a human should. Noticing his unease, Darmanitan smiled reassuringly before turning to Zorua. “Try leading the child back here.” Zorua nodded, making his way back through the forest.

Hilbert had begun wandering around the woods once more, trying to find the fox pokemon again. Just as he was about to give up and go back home, the black and red fox appeared again. He approached quietly, not wanting to scare it off again, but the pokemon instead turned and slowly walked away as if it were trying to lead him somewhere. Hilbert slowly followed behind for a few minutes before the pokemon jumped down a small ledge and out of Hilbert's sight. He tried to follow, but unfortunately he was too small to get a good footing to climb down and instead tumbled to the bottom and into a small clearing. It was only a few feet so he wasn't injured at all, but was left too dizzy to stand up. As he was trying to shake off the dizziness, he shakily stood up to find a large Darmanitan with another boy about his age hiding behind it. Hilbert smiled, he hadn't met anyone else around the woods before, and excitedly approached him, only for the other boy to shyly cower behind the large pokemon. Hilbert paused, assuming he startled him, and instead held out his hand towards the other boy. 

“Hi! My name’s Hilbert! I haven't seen you around here before, do you live nearby?” The other boy hesitantly came out from behind the Darmanitan, and only then did Hilbert finally get a good look at him. He had long, messy green hair with a few twigs and leaves caught in it, wearing an orange shirt and brown shorts covered in grass stains and a bit of dirt, and wearing a large odd trinket on a chain around his neck. Hilbert's eyes widened, his young mind jumping to the conclusion that he had just stumbled across a forest spirit out of a story book, but was pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed that the other boy was sniffing at his hand like a pokemon would. Hilbert laughed a little at the strange display, causing the other boy to step back, looking at him with anxious anticipation. Hilbert stepped forward, taking the other boy's hand and shaking it happily. “You're silly. I hope we can be friends!” The green haired boy was surprised by the gesture, but seemed to appreciate it nonetheless, attempting to mimic Hilbert's handshake and giving him a shy smile.

Darmanitan smiled in approval, happy to see the two boys getting along. Woobat curiously fluttered around Hilbert and Zorua came out from behind Darmanitan. Hilbert kneeled down to the small pokemon and held out his hand, hoping it would let him pet it. Natural stood by, watching his actions carefully. He had never gotten the chance to interact with another human his age before and was surprised to be treated so kindly, and hoped that the other boy would treat his family the same way. Hilbert on the other hand was too engrossed in the weird happenings of that day to think about much else. Encountering new pokemon and meeting someone new was so exciting, he hardly noticed that the sky wasn’t as bright as it had been when he left home, nightfall surely being mere hours away. Once he finally noticed, he hurriedly stood up and turned to the other boy. “Sorry, I have to go home.” he exclaimed, waving goodbye and trying to get back up the ledge. Darmanitan noticed his efforts and gave him a boost, hearing him shout a thank you once he was over the edge. She looked over to see Natural staring at the top of the ledge, not once tearing his eyes away until Hilbert's footsteps could no longer be heard. He hoped he'd get to see the other boy again soon.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hilbert? Are you alright? You've hardly touched your food.”

Hilbert was snapped out of his thoughts by his mother's remark, his eyes refocusing and noticing his nearly untouched dinner. He tried to respond, only to continuously stumble over his words. After he returned home from his experience in the forest, his mind was running wild with different questions about the boy he had met. Did that boy live in the forest? Who are his parents? Do they know he's there? Does he get enough to eat? He took a deep breath to calm his thoughts before responding “I’m okay, I'm just a little excited. I met someone new today!” His mother smiled, asking her son who this new friend was, only for Hilbert to go quiet. He didn't know much about that boy yet. He didn't know what his situation was, and while mulling all this over, realized he didn't even know his name. He thought for a second, before responding, “He doesn't talk much and I didn’t get to hang around that long, so I don't know much about him yet. I might try and see him again tomorrow, I'm pretty sure he lives nearby.”

He could hear his mother continuing to ask him questions, but he was so deep in thought that nothing would register. All he could think to do was hurry and finish his dinner and get to bed so tomorrow would come quicker. Meanwhile, Natural stared up at the night sky that peered through the trees, cuddled up with his mother and siblings as Darmanitan held her children close to keep them warm from the chilly night. He fiddled with the toy hanging around his neck, unable to take his mind off the boy he had met. He had never been that close to a human before, but he hoped he would be able to call him a friend.

The following afternoon, Hilbert headed back into the woods, carrying a lunchbox full of snack foods that he intended to share with his new friend. Brimming with excitement, he wandered deeper and deeper trying to find the ledge leading to the clearing that the green haired child seemed to live in. As he got closer to where he thought the ledge was, the same fox-like pokemon from the previous day appeared, seemingly trying to lead the way again. As he followed, he tried to commit the route to memory so he could avoid getting lost at any point should he revisit. Zorua led him on a path around the ledge, leading to the clearing where Natural and the rest of his family were. His eyes widened upon seeing the other boy enter the clearing. He ran over to greet him, holding out his hand like Hilbert had done to him the previous day, who laughed a little as he took it.

“Look what I brought you!” Hilbert said, opening his lunchbox and revealing small bags full of chips, crackers, chocolates, nuts, and marshmallows. He took out one of the bags and held it out to him. “I wanted to bring you some snacks in case you got hungry out here.” Natural took the bag of marshmallows from him, struggling to get it open. Realizing that the other boy likely didn't know how sealed plastic bags worked, he took the bag from him, opened it, and held a marshmallow out to him. Natural plucked the sugary treat from his hand, inspecting it closely before hesitantly taking a bite. As soon as he tasted it, his eyes lit up as he shoved the rest of the marshmallow into his mouth and frantically reached over to the bag to grab another. Hilbert laughed at his reaction, handing him the bag and watching as the other boy grabbed handfuls of marshmallows and stuffed them into his mouth, savoring the sugary taste. After the bag had been finished and making sure he didn't choke, Hilbert popped open one of the other bags and began snacking on some crackers.

“I forgot I didn't ask you your name yesterday.” he said, offering him another bag of snacks. Natural didn’t know how to speak human language too well, so all he could do was try his hardest to pronounce something that sounded like his name out of what words he had heard before. “Nnn...n-ne...na...” He stammered, not knowing what to do to make the right sounds. Noticing his distress, Hilbert placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Is it okay if I just call you N?” He thought for a second, then nodded. Hilbert smiled. “Great! I don't know if you remember, but my name’s Hilbert. Can you say that?” The newly nicknamed N gulped, trying to mimic saying the other boys name, eventually ending up with a timid utterance of “Hibby”. Hilbert laughed, amused by his new nickname, giving N a smile to relieve him of any potential embarrassment. N smiled back, happy to see that he and Hilbert could communicate fairly well, grasping his hand and leading him over to his pokemon family so they could all play together.

The two boys spent the rest of the afternoon together. Goofing around, sharing snacks, exploring the clearing and surrounding forest, and enjoying each other's company. Hilbert was still wondering about what N's situation was, but at this point it didn't matter to him. He just wanted to be there for his new friend. N was becoming increasingly comfortable with his presence, albeit still a little shy. Eventually Hilbert had to head back home, only to find N grasping his hand, a sad look in his eyes. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, hoping to relieve whatever was troubling his friend. N just squeezed his hand, looking away somewhat dejectedly. “N I need to go home.” Yet he still refused to let go. Hilbert sighed, looking him in the eyes and smiling softly. “I'll come back to visit soon, and I'll bring more snacks for you, okay?” N looked up, smiling a little as he finally let go of Hilbert's hand. With that he headed back into the forest, turning to wave goodbye to N and his family and saw N doing the same, a big smile across his face.

N was as happy as could be. Thinking back to what his mother said the previous day, he hadn't expected another human to warm up to him so quickly. The few times he had gone outside the forest and was seen by other people, he was met with concerned stares from every direction and was too overwhelmed to stay any longer; but Hilbert was sweet and considerate. N was snapped out of his thoughts as his stomach grumbled a bit. He had never tasted anything like the snacks Hilbert had brought him, since he mostly ate berries and whatever small pokemon his family could hunt. Even though he had only known him for two days, he couldn't help but wonder what living among other humans was like, particularly what kinds of foods they had at their disposal. Maybe if Hilbert was there to protect him, it wouldn't be so bad.


	3. Chapter 3

N was hiding in the bushes on the path to the clearing, hoping to surprise Hilbert when he came to visit. He sat curled up on himself, twigs and leaves getting caught in his hair as he fiddled with his puzzle toy to pass the time. It had been two weeks since they had first met, and Hilbert came to visit him almost every day. N loved every moment they spent playing and exploring together. Of course he couldn't visit every day, and N understood that. Hilbert had a mother of his own who worried about him if he was gone too long, but that didn't stop him from feeling a little dejected every time a day went by without getting to see him. Yesterday was unfortunately one of those days, since Hilbert told him he'd have to stay home. But instead of spending the day moping, N decided to try and find something special to surprise Hilbert with when he visited today.

Hilbert made his way down the path in a hurry. He wasn't able to visit N the previous day and he wanted to make it up to him as soon as he could. N tended to get a little clingy when Hilbert had to go home early or couldn't visit for a day, even though he thought it was a little cute, he still felt bad for leaving his friend behind; He didn't want him to feel sad or lonely. As he ran down the path, he was startled when he heard a bush rustling behind him and heard someone shout a familiar nickname of “HIBBY!” as he was nearly tackled to the ground. He looked behind him to see N clinging to him, smiling and laughing, twigs and leaves stuck in his hair. Hilbert returned the embrace, happy to see his friend was so happy to see him again.

“Sorry I couldn't visit yesterday, my mom made me stay home to do chores.” He told him as he tried to pick the debris out of his hair only for N to quickly pull away and grab his hand, excitedly leading him away from the path. Hilbert was a bit confused, but followed anyway. After a few minutes of leading him through the messy forest, they came upon a small beach where N's family were waiting for them. Hilbert's eyes widened in amazement at the sight, excitedly turning to N. "How did you find this place?" He asked, eyes brimming with excitement. N attempted to get a response out. He had gotten a little better at speaking thanks to Hilbert, but only got the hang of a few words. "F..for you!" He stammered, smiling wide. Hearing this, Hilbert gave N a tight hug before kicking off his shoes and running into the water, N following close behind. 

After a few minutes of splashing around together, Hilbert got an idea. He wanted to try and show N how to build a sandcastle. He led N over to the sand and started digging up sand for them to use. He knew it would be a bit more difficult than he was used to due to their lack of beach toys, but he didn't care; He just wanted to spend time with his friend. He motioned for N to sit down next to him and started piling sand onto his friends outstretched legs. N giggled in amusement as Hilbert patted the sand into shape and poked holes in the mound, his ‘castle’ looking more like a durant hill than anything else. After managing to get out from under the sandcastle without damaging it too much, N was wandering around the shore trying to find some shells to give to Hilbert as a gift. He repeatedly plunged his hands into the water and grabbed whatever was too solid to be sand. Unfortunately, all he came up with were rocks and shards of shells. Nonetheless, he tried using them to try and decorate their little castle. 

After a while, the boys had grown tired from their hours spent playing and were now cuddled up against Darmanitan, who was warming her body to help dry them both off. His exhaustion combined with the comforting warmth had caused Hilbert to fall asleep. N lay next to him, smiling softly. He was glad he made his friend happy by showing him this place. He was so kind and so adorable, N couldn't help but liken him to a baby lilipup. Just as he was about to doze off as well, he noticed the sun was beginning to set and shook Hilbert awake, knowing it meant he would have to go home. Hilbert blinked drowsily, and upon noticing the setting sun, jumped to his feet and ran to get his shoes. He hastily said goodbye to N and began running home as fast as he could. N waved goodbye, but Hilbert didn't turn back around to see it, leaving him a bit disheartened. He tried shrugging it off and went to join his family to hunt for some dinner.

Hilbert quietly opened his front door, hoping to sneak up to his room and change his clothes without his mother noticing him, only to find her in plain sight in the kitchen preparing dinner. She turned to welcome her son home and immediately noticed his clothes covered in sand. 

"Hilbert! Where have you been?" She asked, a little worry showing on her face. Hilbert stood still on the welcome mat, not wanting to get any sand on the floor. “N and I were playing at a little beach he found, and I fell asleep while we were drying off. Sorry…” His mother raised an eyebrow. "Were you supervised?" Hilbert nodded. "His mom was there with us." She sighed. “Okay, go upstairs and change your clothes. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.” she continued as Hilbert began to head for the stairs. “Oh, and Cheren and Bianca came over earlier asking if you were home. They said they wanted to play with you tomorrow.” Hilbert responded with an 'okay' as he headed upstairs. He felt pretty bad about not spending time with his other friends these past two weeks, but he didn't want to leave N behind either.

Meanwhile, his mother was sweeping up the sand that fell from Hilbert's clothes while mulling over the situation. He had told her that he had made a friend who lived outside Numeva Town, whose name was N which she assumed was just his first initial, and they always met in the woods, but that's all Hilbert ever told her. She had no reason to be suspicious, but she couldn't help but wonder why Hilbert seemed to be so secretive about it. Did he have something he didn't want her knowing, or was it that he just didn't have the words to describe something that was going on? She shrugged, put her thoughts to rest, and began setting the table for dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

Hilbert sat at the kitchen table, nervously eating his lunch while waiting for his friends to come over. He had no idea how he was going to explain to them why he hadn't been around these past two weeks. He didn't want them to feel like he had been ignoring them, but he didn't want to leave N behind either. And how was he supposed to explain N to them? Both his friends were just as curious as he was and would definitely start asking more questions than his mother had, and something in him told him he had to keep N’s situation a secret, as least for now. He was so deep in thought he couldn't hear the front door opening, and only snapped back into reality when he heard his name called by a pair of familiar voices. A small blonde girl wearing orange overalls ran up to him in excitement, followed by a bespectacled boy with black hair tugging him outside before he could process any of it.

"Where have you been?" The boy, Cheren, shouted at him. "Every time we went to your house asking where you were, your mom said you had already gone off somewhere!" He looked incredibly concerned, making Hilbert feel quite guilty. "Have you been ignoring us?"  
Hilbert piped up "Not on purpose! I promise! I just…" he paused " I made a new friend." The girl, Bianca's, eyes lit up. "Really?" She exclaimed "What're they like?" Hilbert thought about what to say for a second. "He's really sweet, fluffy and...green." Bianca paused "So a whimsicott?" Hilbert laughed at her response, and she spoke again. “When can we meet him?” Hilbert glanced to the side and shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe soon, but he's pretty shy.” Bianca looked a little disappointed at that answer, as she was eager to potentially meet someone new, but refused to pull back on the questions. “What else is he like? What's his name? Is he our age? What does he look like? What games does he like to play?” She was firing off question after question, causing Hilbert to become visibly overwhelmed, stumbling over his words as he tried to find the right answers. Luckily, Cheren stepped in to get her to calm down.

“Bianca that's enough. One question at a time. You're making him nervous.” With that, she snapped out of her excited frenzy and noticed her friends' bewildered state. “Oh, sorry Hilbert. I guess we’ll find out all that stuff ourselves soon.” Hilbert nodded, looking concerned. "You guys aren't jealous, are you?" Cheren shook his head. "No, we were just worried. We missed you." Hilbert smiled, Bianca tugging him away to play together for the first time in a while.

N was digging around in whatever berry bushes he could spot, trying to find the ripest berries possible. Hilbert hadn’t come to visit today, and he wanted to do something to surprise him with again. He wanted to repay him for all the times he brought snacks for him, so he was trying to find ripe, tasty berries for them to eat together next time he visited. He heard Zorua yipping behind him, trying to get his attention and show him a bush filled with pecha berries. N excitedly ran over and gathered the biggest ones he could grab, placing them all in a pouch he made with his shirt and running back to the clearing.

Darmanitan was watching her son frantically run around the edge of the clearing, trying to find a place to store the berries where no pokemon would be able to get to them before Hilbert arrived. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder to relieve him of his overwhelmed state. "I'll hold onto them for the night." She grunted. N smiled happily, dumping the berries into her hand and thanking her with a hug. Returning the embrace with her free hand, she spoke up again.

“Natural,” she began, “if you had the chance to go live among humans with Hilbert, would you?” N paused, thinking for a moment. He had wondered what it would be like to stay in human society, but he was still unsure if he would be able to handle it. The thought of being with his best friend gave him a little confidence until he remembered how much he didn't know about how to live like a human. Most of all, the thought of having to leave his family behind terrified him. He loved his mother and siblings, they were always there for him ever since he was a baby. Even if Hilbert was with him to help him blend in with other humans, if his family wasn't he was sure he wouldn't be able to handle it. On occasion, he would fantasize about if Hilbert ran away and came to live with them in the forest. N would show him how to hunt, and they would be able to spend every day together. Sure, Hilbert wouldn't be able to bring him snacks anymore, but that wouldn't matter to him if he would never have to be without his company. But then he would remember that Hilbert had a mother and friends of his own, and he knew deep down that Hilbert would never want to leave them behind. 

N was so overwhelmed by all these thoughts that he hadn't noticed that he had started tearing up. He only noticed when Darmanitan wiped his tears from his eyes, and he ran up to hug her again, clinging to her and trying to hold back his tears. He was scared and confused and he had no way to communicate it all to anyone; But his mother could tell what he was feeling. She held her son close, petting his hair to calm him down. “Don't worry Natural. We aren't going anywhere. We’ll always be here to look after you.” N sniffled, trying to steady his breathing through his weak sobs. He curled up next to his mother, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep. He just wanted to sleep through the rest of the day and see Hilbert again.


	5. Chapter 5

N waited impatiently at the clearing entrance. He wanted Hilbert to get here soon so they could share the berries he gathered for him. He was worried they would start to rot soon, and the sky was full of grey clouds signaling that it was going to rain that day. He began heading up the path himself, hoping to meet him sooner, fidgeting nervously at the prospect of getting caught in the rain. N hated the rain, because with rain came thunder, and thunder spooked him and prevented him from getting any sleep. He already hardly got any sleep the previous night, his conflicting thoughts about living among people keeping him awake. As soon as he heard Hilbert's voice calling his name from down the path, all his worries disappeared. He ran up to meet him, throwing his arms around the other boy in excitement and tugging his arm to lead him to the clearing. Once there, he had Hilbert sit under a shady tree, took some berries from Darmanitan and plopped them into his lap. “For you!” N said, sitting beside him and beaming with happiness. 

Hilbert smiled back, picking up a pecha berry from his lap and taking a bite. It was no doubt one of the juiciest things he had ever tasted. He didn't care if he got juice stains on his shirt, he wanted to savor every last bit of this. He guessed N had gathered all these berries for him to repay him for all the times he brought snacks when they met up. He swallowed a mouthful of juicy berry and thanked N, who smiled proudly and gave Hilbert a tight hug. He reached into Hilbert's lap and grabbed an oran berry to snack on. 

N leaned against his friend, nervously peering at the sky as the clouds began to grow darker. He doubted there would be much time for him to spend with Hilbert that day, but he was too busy munching on the berries he gathered for him. Hilbert looked over and noticed N staring off into space, lightly placing his hand on his to get his attention. “You okay?” he asked, and N nodded in response. Hilbert still felt like N was worried about something, so he tried to distract him with something. “Hey, what's the thing you always wear around your neck?” He asked, pointing to Ns puzzle toy. N took the chain off from around his neck and handed it to Hilbert. He put down his berry and took the toy, inspecting it closely. It looked like a puzzle cube he had in his toy box at home, but with the middle pieces missing and with green and gold symbols adorning it instead of colored stickers. He and N began taking turns trying to solve it, going back to snacking on berries in between their turns.

Eventually, Hilbert felt something hit his arm, looked down and saw drops of water, and looked up to see the clouds were visibly darker than they were earlier. Raindrops were already starting to fall, and a storm was bound to hit at any moment. He stood up, wiping berry juice off his face and turned to N to say goodbye, only to see N looking really worried. Just as he was about to ask if he was alright, thunder went off in the distance causing N to squeal in fear and cling onto Hilbert for comfort. He quickly put together that N was scared of thunder, leaving him feeling really conflicted about having to leave. 

“Sorry N, I have to go home. I don't want to get caught in the rain, and my mom’ll get worried.” N looked up, grasping Hilbert's arm and looking visibly afraid. Hilbert was about to say something, only to hear N shakily mutter “Stay.”. Hilbert looked at him with a mixture of surprise and sadness in his eyes, gently removing Ns hands from his arm and giving him a hug. “Sorry, I need to go. I promise I’ll bring extra snacks next time I come over, okay?” N nodded a little, watching sadly as Hilbert ran back into the forest.

Hilbert made it back home mere moments before the rain started falling in droves. Slamming the front door behind him in his rush, his mother noticed him trying to catch his breath. “Did you get caught in the rain?” she asked. “Almost.” Hilbert panted, still tired from running all the way back home. “Did your friend make it home alright?” he heard her ask, looking out the window at the increasingly intense rain. He gulped, murmuring “I hope so”, growing increasingly nervous before running up to his room. Seeing this, his mother began to grow concerned as well. Albeit not for the first time, it dawned on her that perhaps Hilbert's friend didn't have a home.

N and his family were huddled up together in a small hide under a tree. Darmanitan kept her children warm while N clung to her every time thunder was heard or a flash of lightning could be seen out of the small opening in the hole. N felt incredibly guilty over being so clingy towards Hilbert. What was he thinking, asking him to stay like that? He was left cooped up in a dark, moist hole while a thunderstorm roared above him, and Hilbert shouldn’t be subjected to that. He doubted the storm would let up anytime soon, and tried blocking out the sounds of thunder as best he could, desperate to get to sleep. 

Hilbert sat on his bed, staring out his window and watching the storm. The rain was heavy and the wind was strong, causing a deep sense of unease to grow within him. He had no idea how this hadn't occurred to him before, that living in the forest left N and his family exposed to the elements. He hoped they had a place to take shelter, but that still left N having to deal with the thunder scaring him. He wished N was there with him, kept warm and safe from the rain. Picturing this, he came to a decision. N shouldn't have to live without modern comforts anymore. He wanted to bring him home. Confident in his decision, he finally managed to relax enough to drift off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been raining non stop for two days in a row, and Hilbert was absolutely restless. He couldn't take feeling so helpless, being left unable to help his friend. “He must be freezing out there,” he thought. He anxiously bounced his leg, waiting for his mother to leave the house for the day. She told him during dinner the previous night that she would be out running errands now that the storm let up, and he was waiting impatiently for her to leave so he could go out and see N and bring him home. He still didn't know how to explain any of this to anyone on his own, but he figured it would be easier to answer whatever questions they had about the matter once they found out on their own.

The moment he saw her leave from his bedroom window, he ran to put on his shoes and bolted out the door. He ran to the clearing as fast as he could, not caring about mud splashing onto his legs or getting his clothes wet from the forest foliage drenched in rain. Running towards the clearing, he began calling out Ns name as he progressively ran out of breath. He collapsed to his knees the moment he arrived, N running over to him in worry once he saw his friend doubled over and trying to catch his breath. Once he recovered, he looked up to see N opening his arms for a hug, which he happily accepted. Happy that N was alright, he pulled away and looked at him with a determined look in his eyes.

“Do you and your family want to come over to my house today?” Hilbert asked, beaming with excitement. It took N a second to process what he had just been asked. All his previous anxiety that surrounded the possibility of living among humans suddenly vanished, realizing his fear of navigating a new life alone wouldn't be realized. His family would be there to support him, and Hilbert would protect him. He nodded excitedly, running over to tell his mother the good news. She motioned for the two boys to climb on her back, Zorua and Woobat following close behind. She carried the children through the forest, N giggling excitedly while Hilbert pointed the way to Nuvema town. 

Hilbert opened the front door to his house, holding it open to let N and his family inside. The doorway was a bit of a tight fit for Darmanitan, but she managed. N was fascinated with his surroundings. A cozy atmosphere, machines he had never seen before, he never thought something so unfamiliar could be so welcoming; But he supposed his every experience with Hilbert felt the same way. Hilbert grabbed his friends hand and tugged him over to the kitchen. “I promised I’d have extra snacks for you, so are you hungry?” he asked, and N nodded. Hilbert pointed to the couch in the living room and told him to wait there. N was mesmerized the moment he touched the cushiony surface. He laid down, dragging his hands along the fabric and enjoying the soft feeling as Zorua and Woobat joined him. He could hear Hilbert fumbling around in the kitchen, the sounds of clinking glass and something heavy being tugged across the floor echoing throughout the room.

Ns eyes wandered around the room, curiously peering at all the unfamiliar things decorating the room. He grabbed a small grey object adorned with multicolored buttons, a TV remote, from the table in front of the couch and started fiddling with it. He had no idea what the contraption was for, so he was awfully startled when pushing one of the buttons caused the TV on the other side of the room to turn on and start glowing with bright light and moving pictures. The screen had turned on to reveal a cartoon depicting two pokemon that N didn't recognize, a small blue one with no arms and a red, green, and white bird. His eyes widened at the sight of two pokemon speaking human language, and he was fixated on the cartoon and amused by the goofy mannerisms of the characters. He hardly noticed Hilbert sitting down beside him and placing a plate with two messy sandwiches on the table, turning to him when he felt him nudge his shoulder.

“I made us lunch!” Hilbert said, handing N one of the sandwiches, which was dripping with a gooey red substance. N took a bite, immediately noticing the familiar taste of leppa berries and began scarfing it down; only to feel a heavy, uncomfortable sensation in his chest. Hilbert noticed his distress and ran to get him a bottle of water. “Don't worry, that happens to me too when I eat too fast.” he said, heading back into the kitchen while N drank his water and coming back with some fruit for Woobat and cold lunch meat for Darmanitan and Zorua. He began feeding the pokemon while watching the cartoon with N. “It’s one of my favorite cartoons, it's called Wooper Runner.” he said and N quirked his eyebrow, not knowing what a wooper was. Noticing his confusion, Hilbert told him to wait there and he ran upstairs, coming back down carrying a large book. 

“It’s a ‘cyclepeda of every pokemon from all over the world!” He said, opening the book and flipping through it to find the page on wooper, though N kept derailing that by stopping him so he could look at other pages. His eyes lit up as he excitedly observed the intricate drawings of pokemon he had never seen before, not paying any mind that he couldn't read the blocks of text accompanying them. He could barely keep still due to his excitement as he flipped through page after page, flapping his hands excitedly. Hilbert watched his friend in his state of pure elation, smiling and laughing as he tried to read out various facts about each pokemon.

They spent the next few hours like that, watching cartoons and looking through the pokemon encyclopedia during the commercial breaks. Eventually, Hilbert noticed it getting darker outside, and tried making some microwave mac ‘n cheese for him and N. He managed to do it without making too much of a mess and hoped he could keep that up, because he had a surprise for N in mind. Once they finished their food, he told N to wait at the kitchen table while he made dessert for them. N watched Hilbert climb onto a stool and tried to reach a high cupboard, getting worried when Hilbert then climbed onto the counter top when the stool proved to be too short. Luckily, he stayed perfectly balanced, coming down from the counter with two mugs. He then went to the fridge and got a jug of milk and a bottle of chocolate sauce, and N became excited when he saw Hilbert head to the pantry and grab a bag of marshmallows. 

“Hold on, it’s not ready yet.” Hilbert said, noticing Ns anticipation. N whimpered a little bit, but kept watching intently as Hilbert filled the mugs with milk and put them in the microwave. While Hilbert kept checking if the milk was heated properly, N kept trying to sneak a marshmallow out of the bag. Unfortunately his attempts were futile since the sound of crinkling plastic alerted Hilbert every time. His fixation on the promise of marshmallows finally paid off when Hilbert took the mugs out of the microwave and stirred in the chocolate sauce, topping the drinks off with a handful of marshmallows. Hilbert let out a small laugh as he saw N eat a marshmallow off the top of his mug, telling him he's supposed to drink it instead. However he didn't mention that he’d have to wait for it to cool down. N immediately recoiled due to the heat of his first sip, but took another anyway due to the enticing sweetness.

Once they finished their hot cocoa, the two of them were starting to get sleepy, so Hilbert led N and his family upstairs. Darmanitan wasn't able to fit into the stairway, so she stayed in the living room. Hilbert led N to his room with Woobat and Zorua following close behind, and he immediately ran over to his closet and grabbed a spare pair of pajamas for N. “Your clothes look really dirty, so you can wear some of mine!” he said, pointing to the door that led to the bathroom. N closed the door behind him and changed into the clothes Hilbert had given him. They were cleaner than he was used to which bothered him a little, but recognizing Hilbert's scent on them calmed him down significantly. He came back into Hilbert's room to see Zorua curled up on the bed, and Woobat perched under the air vent. Hilbert noticed N come back in, and laughed a little.

“Your shirt’s on backwards.” he said, trying to hold back his giggles. “Watch this.” he said, as he pulled his arms into his shirt, turning it around him. “Do this.” he said, N following his example and laughing at his situation. He felt silly, but in a fun way. He flopped onto the bed next to Zorua and buried his face in the soft sheets. The couch downstairs was nothing compared to the comfort he felt here. He felt the bed move as Hilbert climbed in next to him and draped the blankets over the both of them, Zorua squirming underneath the sheets between the boys to get comfortable. N was left curled up on himself, burying his face in the pillow. Hilbert nudged him to get his attention. “Do you like it?” he asked, and N nodded. “ ‘s soft.” he murmured, cuddling up with Zorua. Hilbert smiled and laid next to him after turning off the light. He smiled and whispered “Goodnight N,” and heard a soft “G’night Hibby” whispered back.

Hilbert's mother came home late that night, it was nearly nine o’clock. She had hoped that her son had gotten to bed on time, and was startled to see a darmanitan asleep in her living room; and she was even more surprised to see that her living room wasn't a complete mess despite the massive pokemon. She expected Hilbert to have some explanation, but she bet he was asleep by now. Nonetheless, she sneaked around the sleeping pokemon and made her way upstairs to check on her son. She quietly cracked open the door and stepped in, only to notice something peculiar. She slowly stepped inside, the light from the hallway softly illuminating the room, and saw another child sleeping in the bed with Hilbert, along with a zorua curled up between them. She assumed this child was N and that the pokemon were his, but she still had several questions. Regardless, she decided she would rather not wake her son this late at night, and decided to save her questions for the morning. With that, she left the room, careful not to wake her son or his friend, and headed to her own room to get some sleep.


End file.
